High Contrast

Spring is in the air (officially) but Miami is already red hot with the start of Ultra Music Festival weekend two.

A brisk walk along the South Beach boardwalk and I caught the end of W&W’s set at the swanky, exclusive SiriusXM Music Lounge/Motorola Music Lounge at the W Hotel in Miami Beach. A step in any direction and one runs into Bobina or Chad Cisneros of Tritonal — literally because the place is the Miami Beach hot spot of the day and is packed! This year’s lounge boasted, “…invited guests get to rock out to Sol Republic headphones and create their own custom pair while they enjoy Corzo Tequila cocktails in a lush outdoor private oasis.” Armin van Buuren performed on the courtyard stage promoting his forthcoming album Intense. Unfortunately there was no time for a complimentary Corzo drink because Ultra Weekend Two day one was already in full swing.

Catching a cab ride is the challenge of the weekend but once inside out of the rain it’s a scenic and relatively quick ride over the Venetian Causeway to Ultra Music Festival, the media check-in and the yacht media tent at Bayfront Park. Martin Solveig was hanging in the wings backstage prepping for his set just a few minutes away. Grabbing a quick posed shot of Mr. Solveig I then made my way to situate myself in the pit for his performance. He played a captivating, well-received set including his smash hit “The Night Out” and “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” all in a massive downpour.

Nicky Romero, who is quickly rising to the well-deserving title of epitome of the superstar DJ, played the Ultra Worldwide Stage to an overflowing crowd. His productions, remixes, live performances are all flawless. He entertained with the crowd-reeling “Sparks,” the promotion for this year’s Ultra Music Festival.

Boys Noize was off the hook at the Live Stage DJing from a skull prop deck with red glowing eyes. He feverishly dropped “Yeah,” “Lemonade,” “Jeffer” and “My Head” to a crazed audience.
Bloody Beetroots followed with a live set including their crowd-pleaser “Dimmakmmunication.”

Quintino closed out the Jacked stage with a special appearance off-and-on by R3hab and thrilled the crowd with the UMF hit “Pursuit Of Happiness.”

Rather than contend with the mass exodus catching a cab to South Beach, Club Therapy in Miami with High Contrast seemed like the better bet. The MC introduced with, “Who’s ready to blast off for High Contrast?!” and the remainder of the night was an ecstatic blur although I know he did drop “Show Me Love.” A few tracks in Camo & Krooked’s set including a sampling of Beastie Boys “Hey Ladies” and an intensified remix of “We Are Your Friends,” it was time to call it a day and head back to South Beach to be re-energized for the remainder of UMF weekend.